West Hoboken was a municipality that existed in Hudson County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, from 1861 to 1925. It merged with Union Hill to form Union City on June 1, 1925. The town is notable for being the first city in which

Mallomars Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats also known as Chocolate teacakes are confections consisting of a biscuit base topped with marshmallow-like filling and then coated in a hard shell of chocolate. They were invented in Denmark in the 19th centu ...

were sold.Barron, James (December 8, 2005)
"The Cookie That Comes Out in the Cold"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

History

Early history and civic boundaries

The area that became West Hoboken was originally inhabited by the Munsee-speaking branch of

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

Native Americans, who wandered into the vast woodland area encountered by

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

during the voyages he conducted from 1609–1610 for the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, who later claimed the area (which included the future

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) and named it

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...

. The portion of that land that included the future Hudson County was purchased from members of the

Hackensack tribe Hackensack was the exonym given by the Dutch colonists to a band of the Lenape, or ''Lenni-Lenape'' ("original men"), a Native American tribe. The name is a Dutch derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Je ...

of the Lenni-Lenape in 1658 by New Netherland colony Director-General

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Ne ...

, and became part of

Pavonia, New Netherland Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River) that was part of the seventeenth-century province of New Netherland in what would become the present Hudson County, New Jersey. Hudson and the Hackens ...

. The boundaries of the purchase are described in the deed preserved in the New York State Archives, as well as the medium of exchange: "80 fathoms of

wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nor ...

, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 brass kettles, 6 guns, one double brass kettle, 2 blankets, and one half barrel of strong beer." The relationship between the early Dutch settlers and Native Americans was marked by frequent armed conflict over land claims. In 1660, Peter Stuyvesant ordered the building of a fortified village called Bergen to protect the area. It was the first permanent European settlement in New Jersey, located in what is now the

Journal Square Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper ''Jersey Journal'' whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is ...

area of

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark."350 years of history; Fair commemorates founding of Jersey City, will honor the oldest families in Hudson County"
''Hudson Reporter''. "Before there was a Jersey City or a Hudson County, the village of Bergen – the first European settlement in New Jersey, founded in 1660 by Dutch settler Peter Stuyvesant – had its origins in what is now the Journal Square area of Jersey City near Academy Street." In 1664, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

captured New Netherland from the Dutch, at which point the boundaries of Bergen Township encompassed what is now known as Hudson County. North of this was the unpopulated Bergen Woods, which would later be claimed by settlers, after whom a number of Union City streets today are named, including Sip Street,''Bergen: Town and Township Nov 1660-Sept 22, 1668'', 1957 Genealogical Society of New JerseyHarvey, Cornelius Burnham (1900). ''Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey'' The New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 20Winfield, Charles H (1874). ''History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey'', Kennard & Hay Stationary. p. 525 Tournade Lane and Kerrigan Avenue,''Business Directory Of North Hudson'', North Hudson Hospital Association, Town of Union, N.J. 1905. p. 331 which is named after J. Kerrigan, the owner of Kerrigan Farm, who donated the land for Saint Michael's Monastery.Union City 2000 Calendar, 2000, culled from ''History of West Hoboken and Union Hill'' by Ella-Mary Ryman, 1965 and ''The Historical Background of Union City'' by Daniel A. Primont, William G. Fiedler and Fred Zuccaro, 1964 The area that became West Hoboken, however, was sparsely populated until the early 19th century. The British granted Bergen a new town charter in 1668. In 1682 they created

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...

counties. Sparsely inhabited during the 17th and 18th centuries, the southeast section of Bergen County had grown by the early 19th century to the point where it was deemed necessary to designate it a separate county. The New Jersey legislature created Hudson County in 1840, and in 1843, it was divided into two townships: Old Bergen Township (which eventually became Jersey City) and North Bergen Township, which was gradually separated into Hudson County's municipalities of

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

(1849),

Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

and Guttenberg (1859), and Union City Township in 1861, though it was colloquially known as Union Hill. West Hoboken was incorporated as a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

by an Act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

on February 28, 1861, from portions of North Bergen Township. The township was reincorporated on April 6, 1871, and again on March 27, 1874. Portions of the township were ceded to Weehawken in 1879.Snyder, John P (1969)
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography. Trenton, New Jersey. p. 148. Accessed June 18, 2013. On June 28, 1884, West Hoboken was reincorporated as a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

, based on an ordinance passed nine days earlier. The town was reincorporated on April 24, 1888, based on the results of a referendum passed 12 days earlier. Union City was incorporated on June 1, 1925, by merging the two towns of West Hoboken and Union Hill.

Business

were first sold in a grocery in West Hoboken. The town had two commercial districts. Transfer Station at Paterson Plank Road and Summit Avenue, in the southern part of town, and

Bergen Turnpike Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, at the border with Union Hill.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with West Hoboken include: (B) denotes that the person was born there. * Charles Avedisian (1917–1983), football player who played in the NFL for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

(B) * Pietro Botto (1864–1945), owner of the

Pietro and Maria Botto House The Pietro and Maria Botto House, also known as Pietro Botto House, at 83 Norwood Street, Haledon in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, is where leaders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union spoke to the 25,000 striking worker ...

Haledon, New Jersey Haledon ( ) is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,052, an increase of 734 (+8.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,318, which in turn reflected an ...

, which was a central location of the

1913 Paterson Silk Strike The 1913 Paterson silk strike was a work stoppage involving silk mill workers in Paterson, New Jersey. The strike involved demands for establishment of an eight-hour day and improved working conditions. The strike began in February 1913, and ende ...

, and the first Italian American site to be designated a national landmark. Botto emigrated from

Biella, Italy Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and '' comune'' in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of Turin ...

in 1892, first settling in West Hoboken. *

James E. Buttersworth James Edward Buttersworth (1817–1894) was an English painter who specialized in maritime art and is considered among the foremost ship portraitists in the United States of the nineteenth century. His paintings are particularly known for the ...

(1817–1894), British maritime artistHalasz, Piri (January 21, 1973). "Art: Maritime Theme at Exhibitions; Appeal of Nostalgia History and Humor Portraits of Vessels". ''The New York Times''. "James Butterworth (1817–1894), whose work is on view in Trenton, was an Englishman born on the Isle of Wight. By the time he emigrated and settled in West Hoboken (now Union City), America was in the heyday of its gallant clipper ships." *

Rene Paul Chambellan Rene Paul Chambellan (September 15, 1893 – November 29, 1955) was an American sculptor who specialized in architectural sculpture. He was also one of the foremost practitioners of what was then called the "French Modern Style" and has subseq ...

(1893–1955),

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

who specialized in

architectural sculpture Architectural sculpture is the use of sculptural techniques by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the structure, but freestanding works that ...

and was one of the foremost practitioners of what was then called the "French Modern Style", or

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

(B) * Pietro di Donato (1911–1992), writer known for his novel, '' Christ in Concrete'' (B)Severo, Richard (January 21, 1992)
"Pietro di Donato Is Dead at 80; Wrote of Immigrants' Experience"
''The New York Times''. "Mr. di Donato was born on April 3, 1911, in West Hoboken, N.J. His family had immigrated to the United States from Vasto, in the Abruzzi region of Italy." *

Antonio Jacobsen Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (November 2, 1850 – February 2, 1921) was a Danish-born American maritime artist known as the "Audubon of Steam Vessels". Biography Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark where he attended the Royal Academy of ...

(1850–1921), maritime artist known as the "Audubon of Steam Vessels" *

Joe Jeanette Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

(1879–1958), considered one of the best

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

heavyweight boxers of the early 20th Century (B) * Ada Lunardoni (1911–2003), artistic gymnast who competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-s ...

and placed fifth with the team (B) * Otto Messmer (1892–1983), the creator of ''

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...

'' (B) * Ioan Missir (1890–1945), Romanian lawyer, politician and novelist * William Musto (1917–2006), Mayor of Union City from 1962-1970 and from 1974–1982 * Arthur Pinajian (1914–1999), Armenian American artist and comic book creator, known as the creator of the characters Madame Fatal and

Invisible Hood The Invisible Hood is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He was originally owned by Quality Comics, but was later acquired by DC Comics, along with other Quality characters. He first appeared in ''Smash Comics'' #1 (August 1939), ...

"'Lost & Found: Pinajian Discovery' debuts in NYC Feb. 13"
Auction Central News. January 8, 2013 *

William Ranney William Tylee Ranney (May 9, 1813 – November 18, 1857) was a 19th-century American painter, known for his depictions of Western life, sporting scenery, historical subjects and portraiture. In his 20-year career, he made 150 paintings and 80 draw ...

(1813–1857), painter best known for his depictions of Western life, sporting scenery, historical subjects and portraiture * Alvin Sella (c. 1920–2013), painter and educator (B) * Walter Walsh (1907–2014), FBI agent, USMC shooting instructor and Olympic shooter *

Gene Wettstone Eugene Wettstone (July 15, 1913 – July 30, 2013), was an American gymnastics coach, known as the "Dean of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches", for leading Pennsylvania State University to a record nine N.C.A.A. championships in the sport, and for co ...

(1913–2013), gymnastics coach, known for leading

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

to a record nine N.C.A.A. championships in the sport, and for coaching the U.S. men's teams in the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

and

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, West Hoboken, New Jersey
Union City's official website
1861 establishments in New Jersey 1925 disestablishments in New Jersey Former towns in New Jersey Former municipalities in Hudson County, New Jersey Union City, New Jersey North Hudson, New Jersey